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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24961762">The Case with the Power Outages</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Outrageously_Ordinary_Typist/pseuds/Outrageously_Ordinary_Typist'>Outrageously_Ordinary_Typist</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Disco Elysium (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Confessions, Elaborate Hand-Holding, M/M, Power Outage, Romantic Comedy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:27:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,529</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24961762</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Outrageously_Ordinary_Typist/pseuds/Outrageously_Ordinary_Typist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>While Jean and Kim are working late in the evening on a case, the power goes out in the precinct and maybe it's finally time for Jean to tell Kim something that's been on his mind.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kim Kitsuragi/Jean Vicquemare</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Case with the Power Outages</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I hope you enjoy this silly little one-shot~</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Your most recent case has you working until late in the evening. You're hunched over some schematics and documents you can hardly make any sense of all in order to find the bastard who's been making your life and the lives of countless Jamrock citizen a living hell for the past three weeks.</p>
<p class="">Sitting at a desk all the way on the opposite side of the precinct, is Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi. His eyes are tirelessly fixed on the identical copy of schematics you have on your desk and unlike you, he can actually do something useful with them thanks to his experience in mechanical engineering.</p>
<p class="">LOGIC [Medium: success] - Okay, so maybe it's only experience from working in a motor shop in his youth, it's still more than you'll ever know.</p>
<p>DRAMA [Formidable: failure] - There's a slim chance he's just pretending to analyse the papers, while instead he might be sleeping with his eyes open.</p>
<p>LOGIC [Medium: success] - That can't be, you've stared at Kim long enough to know when he's donning his 'work-face'. And this is 100 percent his concentrated work-face.</p>
<p class="">How he looks so endearing with those creases on his forehead and his scrunched up nose, you have no idea. However, you don't want to spare it another thought in fear of these thoughts - feelings - becoming something 'More'.</p>
<p class="">It's already too late, you've done plenty of analysing already.</p>
<p class="">ENCYCLOPEDIA [Challenging: success] - Based on the common traits and features of your previous lovers, you're attracted to people who speak their minds. People who abide by the law, but don't mind going over the speed limit - for fun. And people with glasses.</p>
<p class="">ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Formidable: success] - Because glasses make them look intelligent and intellect is a hell of a turn-on for you.</p>
<p class="">ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: success] - And that's far from the only thing that makes Kim compatible with you. You both enjoy quiet atmospheres and have a great sense of responsibility.</p>
<p class="">Which is how the both of you have found your way working on this case at this hour while the rest of the precinct is deserted.</p>
<p class="">Harry and Judit, the other half of your party of four, have gone off together to stakeout the crime scene in the hopes of catching the perpetrator in the act and finally putting an end to the madness. Because for more than three weeks this bastard of a human being has caused over four dozen power outages across the entirety of the Jamrock district.</p>
<p class="">Lights, air conditioning, hot water, every machine that runs on electricity reduced to useless scrap metal.</p>
<p class="">At first, back when you believed it to be an unfortunate accident instead of a deliberate crime, it was a minor inconvenience. You could handle navigating your apartment using candlelight and you didn't really miss being able to listen to the radio in the morning and afternoon.</p>
<p class="">Everything changed the day you woke up with a crick in your neck - an event completely unrelated to the power outage situation - the pain of which you would try to alleviate with a nice, hot shower. Instead you were greeted with an ice-cold stream of water. You were a shaking and shivering mess by the end of it and there wasn't even any coffee at the precinct to brighten up your, quite frankly, terrible morning and terrible mood.</p>
<p class="">You were given this case to solve, along with some of your most trusted and capable colleagues, but there was much more on the line now. It had gotten personal for you.</p>
<p class="">DRAMA [Medium: success] - This 'villain' has to be stopped at all costs for the sake of your own sanity.</p>
<p class=""> INLAND EMPIRE [Challenging: failure] - Between the lack of caffeine, your feelings for Kim and the high voltage transformer schematics you can't read, you feel the sanity slowly but surely slipping from your grasp.</p>
<p class="">COMPOSURE [Heroic: success] - You're lucky there's a part of your brain specifically designed to make you look unaffected even though you are very much not chill inside.</p>
<p class="">PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium: success] - The faint sound of a voice pulls you from your inner monologue. "... Jean... Officer Vicquemare?"</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - Kim says your name as if he's been repeating it for a while already. His face is contorted in confusion and concern.</p>
<p class="">YOU - "Yes, Kim?"</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - "Oh, nothing." For a moment it sounds like he's going to leave it at that. He lowers his eyes to the papers spread out over his desk, then he looks back to you and says, "It's just that you were staring off into space for a while."</p>
<p class="">LOGIC [Easy: success] - For a while? That means he's been looking at you too.</p>
<p class="">ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Formidable: success] - And why would that be? You wonder.</p>
<p class="">VOLITION - Quit dreaming, Vicquemare. It's never gonna happen.</p>
<p class="">YOU - "I was just thinking about the case and how it better gets resolved soon before all the hair on my head turns grey or I go bald."</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - Kim runs a hand absentmindedly through his own thinning black hair and replies, "Harry did mention you get crankier the longer you've gone without coffee."</p>
<p class="">ELECTROCHEMISTRY [Trivial: success] - You are what some may call 'an addict'. The longer you go without your fix, the more noticeable your withdrawal symptoms become.</p>
<p class="">YOU - "You and Harry have been talking about me then?"</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - He looks almost sheepish. "Me, Harry and Judit actually, when you were on your smoke break."</p>
<p class="">EMPATHY [Medium: success] - You assume Kim prides himself on not engaging in workplace gossip, but with Harry and Judit together it's hard not to be enticed to listen in on what they have to say about their colleagues. You can hardly blame him for it.</p>
<p class="">YOU - "Nice to know I can trust my crime-solving partners." You say in jest and feel a tingle of pride and pleasure travel up your spine when you hear Kim chuckle at your little joke.</p>
<p class="">A silence falls over the nearly empty precinct. A silence that's neither comfortable nor awkward. It's in a weird in-between state. The one thing you realise now is that there's something more, something unspoken between the two of you, which should be addressed at some point.</p>
<p class="">You have an idea about what that thing could be.</p>
<p class="">EMPATHY [Easy: success] - It starts with "F" and ends with "-eelings."</p>
<p class="">LOGIC [Medium: success] - This may be the most opportune time for you to tell him. There's no one else around and you don't have to do much to get his attention. He's already looking at you.</p>
<p class="">YOU - You clear your throat and mentally prepare yourself for what you're going to say.</p>
<p class="">DRAMA [Formidable: success] - Declare your love for him and kiss him passionately.</p>
<p class="">PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Challenging: success] - Use your body to say all that needs to be said. Push him up against the wall and claim him.</p>
<p class="">RHETORIC [Challenging: success] - What Kim actually appreciates the most in a person is clear communication. Get straight to the point and tell him.</p>
<p class="">YOU - "Kim, after working so closely with you, I feel like I've gotten to know you quite well and- fucking hell!"</p>
<p class="">In the middle of opening up your heart, you notice the telltale signs of a power outage. The lights flicker on and off for a tenth of a second, before shutting down for good. Plunging Kim and yourself into complete and utter darkness.</p>
<p class="">PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium: success] - You hear the sound of a soft gasp coming from the other side of the room.</p>
<p class="">Your own heart is pounding as well. Adrenaline from the aborted confession and the sudden fright of the lights going out pumps through your veins and has gotten you on edge.</p>
<p class=""> YOU - "You've gotta be kidding me."</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - "Unfortunately this appears to be our new reality." He remarks drily. "But, er, what were you saying before, Jean?"</p>
<p class="">You can't say it to him now when you can't even see his face to gauge his reaction.</p>
<p class="">YOU - "It's... Look, we really can't work in the dark." You change topic, hoping he'll let it drop.</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - "Indeed. What do you suggest we do?"</p>
<p class="">YOU - "Let's take our paperwork up to the rooftop. There should be plenty of lighting there, since it's a full moon."</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - "And go up the health and safety violation we call the staircase? Not to mention it's pitch black in that stairwell right now."</p>
<p class="">You and 'The Staircase of Doom' go way back. You're able to navigate it backwards while carrying a heavy bench - because two years ago Harry wanted to have a rooftop bench at whatever cost and he would not relent until he had it. He has only used it once since. <em>ONCE</em>.</p>
<p class="">YOU - "Don't worry about it, I can get us up there no problem."</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - He makes a sound that signals his disbelief, though he probably hasn't meant for you to hear him. After a while, he speaks up, "First we need to get out of here without tripping over desks."</p>
<p class="">EMPATHY [Easy: success] - He sounds worried and you suspect it might be because he has trouble adjusting to the darkness and his poor eyesight surely isn't doing him any favours.</p>
<p class="">YOU - "Gather up the notes on your desk and I'll come to you." You suggest, while you give your eyes some extra time to get used to the absence of light.</p>
<p class="">PERCEPTION (SIGHT) [Challenging: success] - You faintly see some moonlight trickling in from the windows, but it's not enough to illuminate the precinct. The most you get out of it is silhouettes of the desks and chairs. At least you can avoid bumping into those.</p>
<p class="">YOU - You slowly make you way through the precinct. It's a silent affair, save for you stubbing your foot against a box carelessly hanging out at Harry's desk, which you've asked him to move four times already. You hear the rustle of papers as Kim meticulously gathers them in a folder.</p>
<p class="">YOU - Eventually you arrive at Kim's desk and reach out.</p>
<p class="">PERCEPTION (TOUCH) [Easy: success] - Your hand touches Kim's and he flinches back like he's been struck by lightning.</p>
<p class="">YOU - "Are you okay?"</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - "Yes, I just didn't expect you to-" He trails off, awkwardly.</p>
<p class="">YOU - "I'm sorry, I didn't want to spook you."</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - "It's alright." He says and lowers his hand so it comes into contact with yours again.</p>
<p class="">PERCEPTION (TOUCH) [Easy: success] - You grasp his hand, not too tight and not too loose. His hand is smaller than yours, a bit more slender and calloused. The point of contact where your palms connect is warm, a comfortable heat.</p>
<p class="">You pull him along expertly through the precinct, you now know to avoid the box near Harry's desk and before you know it, you arrive at the door to the stairwell. You open the door and it's as if you stand in front of a black hole. Absolutely no light finds its way into the stairwell.</p>
<p class="">YOU - You unconsciously squeeze Kim's hand a little tighter, to reassure him or yourself, you're not sure. But it helps nonetheless.</p>
<p class="">YOU - "Let's go."</p>
<p class="">With one hand on the railing and the other entwined with Kim's, you trek up the stairs. One step after the other, slowly creeping your way up. You warn Kim when there's an uneven step and manage not to trip up yourself. Meanwhile you're all the more aware of your hand-holding.</p>
<p class="">ENDURANCE - Is this making Kim uncomfortable? By holding his hand hostage and with his other hand occupied holding the folder, he has no way to support himself if he trips. He has to count on you, and while you are physically strong, it would still be scary to have to solely rely on your reflexes to catch him.</p>
<p class="">COMPOSURE [Challenging: failure] - And something even worse is occurring. The comfortable heat from earlier has spread and become even warmer, so now it's like you're holding your hand right up to a radiator in the middle of the summer. Your hand is getting clammy.</p>
<p class="">You've stopped paying attention to anything but the feeling of your hands, but luckily for you, there are no more precarious steps. You've safely made your way to the rooftop and throw open the door with a big sigh of relief. Finally you're able to see again.</p>
<p class="">While the rooftop usually gives a good view over the neighbouring apartment buildings and streets, with all the lights in the buildings and the streetlights turned off, now it looks like there's only darkness surrounding the precinct. Your only source of light is the full moon, which casts a blueish glow on the world around you.</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - Kim pulls his hand out of your grasp and walks towards the bench.</p>
<p class="">As you follow behind him you notice his ears are flushed red.</p>
<p class="">REACTION SPEED - Impulsively you reach out for his hand to stop him in his tracks.</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - He turns around and looks incredulously at your interlaced hands and then at your face. But he doesn't pull away.</p>
<p class="">YOU - "Kim, there's something I have to get off my chest."</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - "What's wrong, Jean?"</p>
<p class="">ENDURANCE [Challenging: success] - Come on, Jean. You can do this.</p>
<p class="">YOU - "Well, it's not that there's something wrong per se. Actually if I'm reading the signs correctly, things are more than okay."</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - His expression is one of apprehension, mixed with a bit of hopefulness and he says, "What are you talking about?"</p>
<p class="">EMPATHY [Easy: success] - He really doesn't like it when you're speaking in riddles.</p>
<p class="">YOU - "I like-"</p>
<p class="">As if the god of lousy timings himself wanted to make sure your day was double ruined, it chooses now to turn the power back on. The lights flash on and blind you for a couple of seconds.</p>
<p class="">At first you think it's a dream, it must be a dream. But you swear you can feel a pressure against your mouth. As if someone's, Kim's, lips are pressing up against them. And when you open your eyes you think you might have truly gone insane, because Kim isn't currently in the middle of kissing you. You do however notice that he's averting his eyes and looking rather guilty.</p>
<p class="">YOU - "Did you just kiss me?"</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - "I did, I'm sorry-"</p>
<p class="">You don't even let him finish his sentence before you place a hand behind his neck and pull him closer to kiss him.</p>
<p class="">It's better than anything you've fantasised about, because it's real and it's Kim and he's all you've ever wanted.</p>
<p class="">You draw back and can't help but smile, because Kim's smiling too. You've never seen him so giddy and it's infectious.</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - "I've been wanting to do that for a while." He confesses.</p>
<p class="">YOU - "Why didn't you?"</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - "How was I supposed to know you were interested?"</p>
<p class="">YOU - "You could've asked."</p>
<p class="">KIM KITSURAGI - "So could you." He retorts quickly.</p>
<p class="">COMPOSURE - Is this how it's going to be from now on? Kim rendering you speechless either with kisses or by shutting you down with words.</p>
<p class="">ENDURANCE - You can't really complain.</p>
<p class=""> </p>
<p class=""> </p>
<p class="">In the end it takes two more weeks before the power outage guy is caught, but it doesn't bother you very much anymore. After all, there's plenty to do in the dark with your lover.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You can find me on tumblr @notwritinganyflufftoday, where I also post snippets of original works.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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